


Sunflower Moments

by Crescentmoonmadness



Series: The Sunflower Chronicles [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Valentine's Day Fluff, because I don't do straight fluff, that doesn't sound like me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:54:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22798156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crescentmoonmadness/pseuds/Crescentmoonmadness
Summary: Jughead Jones has spent years loving Betty Cooper. He loves her more than he loves himself most days. He would do anything for her, including keeping his feelings to himself if that meant she would be happy. Most of the time, he can live with his unrequited feelings. And yet, every year, on Valentine's Day, his emotions rear their ugly head and make his life difficult. Will he be able to get through one more Valentine's Day, or will his emotions get the best of him?Or...The five times Jughead hated Valentine's Day and the one time he loved it.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Series: The Sunflower Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639000
Comments: 67
Kudos: 196
Collections: 7th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees, 7th Bughead Fanfiction Awards — Winners!





	Sunflower Moments

**Author's Note:**

  * For [itsnotoktohit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsnotoktohit/gifts).



> So this is a (late) Valentine's Day story that is dedicated to my wonderful friend, @itsnotoktohit. She is my favorite person to rant to about this godforsaken show with and never fails to make me smile. I hope you enjoy this, dear, and thank you so much for everything!
> 
> This fic was heavily inspired by She by dodie. I highly recommend listening to it while you read. You'll get it later.

**Fifteen**

Jughead’s mind was reeling. He couldn’t breathe, it felt like the air was too thin for his lungs to draw an adequate amount of oxygen into his constricting airways. 

She was beautiful. 

Well, she was always beautiful, but today she was… He struggled to find a word that could describe her. 

_ Effervescent _ . 

Her blonde hair shone under the school’s fluorescents, and her smile could brighten any room. He thought for a moment that if she were to ever smile at him like that, his heart might just explode. 

This was it, he was going to tell her. He would tell her how he felt, how much she meant to him. 

Like how his heart swelled when she sat next to him at the drive-in, her head buried in his shoulder when the scary parts got to be too much. 

Or how he ached to just hold her hand, to be allowed to touch her soft skin and tell her that his heart belonged to her. 

That this was more than just teenage infatuation. That he had never been in love, but he was pretty sure this was what it felt like. 

He had planned everything perfectly. He would send her a candygram that would have instructions for her to go to the Blue and Gold office. It was where he had finally realized that he was in love with her. 

_ She was bent over her desk, pouring over an article about the school lunch program, her hair loose from its restricting ponytail. She looked up at him, shooting him a soft smile, before picking up her pages and coming to sit beside him on the dusty old couch where he lounged. She placed the pages in his lap, and her scent immediately flooded his nose. Lemongrass and sleep, so uniquely her that he could pick it out of a crowd.  _

_ “What do you think of this?” she asked him, her voice soft in the quiet room.  _

_ He almost forgot how to breathe, unable to function with her that close to him. “Uh… It looks great, Betty.” Her smile warmed the deepest reaches of his soul, brightened the most cynical recesses.  _

_ “You actually have to read it, silly,” she chided, nudging him with her shoulder. He didn’t know how she could possibly expect him to focus on after but the warmth of her body along his side, but he tried his best.  _

_ What he was met with was a quick-witted, yet factual account of the successes and failings of their lunch program, detailed in a way that any student could understand. There was humor, while maintaining an overall tone of professionalism. It was the kind of writing that one might see in the New York Times, although a rudimentary version of it. They were only in freshman year, after all.  _

_ But the sheer amount of potential in her writing astounded him.  _

_ “Betty, this is…” she looked at him expectantly, “this is really good.” _

_ “Do you think so?” she asked, taking the papers back from him, “Because I thought this part in the middle was awful, do you think I should -” _

_ He placed a hand over hers, stopping her self-deprecation, “It is amazing. All of it.”  _

_ Then, she smiled at him. An honest-to-God smile. Not the patent Cooper smile that she gave everyone. This was different, entirely something new. It warmed him from the inside out, it was like an oasis in the desert.  _

_ It was at that moment that he knew he would do anything to keep her smiling like that. _

Once she made it to the Blue and Gold he would be waiting with flowers, daisies, her favorite, and iced coffee, her preferred method of caffeine. He would tell her how he felt, that she made him better, made him want to _ be  _ better. That she was his sun, his moon, that his world orbited around her. He sighed happily, feeling jitters roll through his body. 

He had been planning this for two weeks, and he was nervous, but more than ready to finally say what he had wanted to say to her since September. 

He walked through the hallways, looking to meet up with Betty before class. He had debated seeing her before she got her candygram, he was a horrible liar, his poker face was absolute garbage, but he couldn’t avoid her. He was drawn to her like a magnet, there was no use fighting it. It was ten minutes until the bell, and he was almost ashamed that he knew exactly where she would be. Standing at her locker, waiting for him to walk her to class. 

He walked around the corner, giddy at the prospect of seeing the one person who never failed to make his day better, but then everything shattered in a matter of moments. 

His eyes fell on her, but she wasn’t alone. Archie was standing in front of her, his back to Jughead, her face on open display to him. She was blushing, when did Betty ever blush in front of Archie?

Archie was shaking his head, a large hand reaching around to rub the back of his neck. Jughead knew his friend well enough to know that he only did that when he was uncomfortable. Jughead watched, confused, as Betty’s face fell, a look of devastation rested upon her face. She tucked her emotions away as quickly as they had come, but it was still long enough for Jughead to see. He never missed anything, not when it came to her. Archie walked away, probably to class, as Betty stood there, her face a mask of nothing. 

He jogged up to her quickly, placing a gentle hand on her arm when she didn’t notice his approach. 

“Betty?” She looked up at him, and he became furious as he noticed the singular tear that rested on her cheek. “What’s wrong?”

She wiped her face quickly, sucking in a deep breath and plastering on a fake smile. His heart clenched. That smile was saved for teachers and parents, but not him. Never him. 

“Nothing, Jug,” she shook her head, staring at the ground. He stood there, unsure of why she was lying to him. “Listen, I have to go see Principal Weatherbee before class starts, I’ll meet you there.” She took off down the hall before Jughead had a moment to respond, leaving him standing alone. 

It wasn’t until fifth period that he overheard Reggie Mantle cackling over how sweet Betty Cooper had asked Archie out on a date and Archie had turned her down, stone cold. Jughead’s vision blurred momentarily. Archie. She had asked out Archie. And he had turned her down. 

Jughead scoffed to himself as anger flooded his body. Of course, she liked Archie. Everyone preferred the All-American football player to the literary weirdo who wore a stupid beanie even in the dead of summer. 

He walked with purpose to the door. He had been on his way to purchase his candygram, but after what he heard that obviously wasn’t going to happen now. He pushed through the front doors viciously, wincing internally when they cracked against the cement walls. 

The air was brisk and the world sat before him, naked and white with snow. 

He should have known better, he thought to himself. Jones men didn’t get the girl. Period. 

**Sixteen**

It had been a long twelve months since the Valentine’s disaster of freshman year. A lot had changed since then. For a few months, Jughead had tried to convince himself that he didn’t care about her. That he could move on.  _ Like hell.  _

A new girl had moved to town just before the end of freshman year. Her name was Veronica Lodge, and it had taken his lunkhead best friend approximately two minutes before he had been drooling at her feet. 

Much to his dismay, Betty had become good friends with the raven-haired heiress as well. He hadn’t been expecting that. He had been hoping that Betty would hate her on principle, and in doing so, keep Jughead far away from the entitled, spoiled princess that she was. But he had no such luck. The two were nearly inseparable. 

They had all spent the summer hanging out at Pops, swimming at Sweetwater River, and learning to drive. As much as he tried, he couldn’t keep ignoring the fact that he was still in love with Betty. His plans to rid himself of his feelings for her all failed spectacularly. It was unavoidable. He was completely gone for her. And she would probably never know. Over the course of their sophomore year, there had been a few times where he had almost worked up enough courage to tell her how he felt. But each time he came close, he would envision her with Archie and he would remind himself of the fact that he wasn’t her type, obviously. 

He had received the confirmation he needed right after winter break. 

_ He waited at her locker, excited to tell her about the refurbished laptop his father had gotten his for Christmas, sure it wasn’t new, but it was leagues better than the piece of junk he had been using before.  _

_ His eyes found her as soon as she turned the corner, her smile gracing him for the first time since before Christmas. Entirely too long, in his opinion. He was so busy admiring her, that he almost didn’t notice the boy walking beside her, or that their hands were joined. His breath caught in his throat. Maybe they were just friends. But that couldn’t be right.  _ They  _ were friends, she never held  _ his _ hand.  _

_ The gears in his brain ground each other out as the two walked closer, and he desperately tried to come up with some kind of reasonable explanation as to why she was  _ holding this boys’ hand.

_ “Hey, Jug,” she greeted him warmly as they approached. When he didn’t respond she blushed slightly, and he kicked himself for being unable to function like a normal human. “Do you know Trev Brown?” _

_ Jughead shook his head, not recognizing the boy’s face.  _

_ “He just transferred here a couple of months ago, from Colorado.” _

_ Jughead simply nodded, his gaze unintentionally flickering down to their still joined hands.  _

_ Betty must have noticed his gaze and slipped her hand free from Trev’s, the blush on her face growing hotter. “Trev and I met up at the ski resort in Colorado. You know, the one my family goes to every year? I guess Trev’s family does too, and we, uh…” _

_ “We really hit it off,” came Trev’s smooth voice. Jughead wanted to scowl but did his best to control his facial expressions. “I had a spectacular crash on a black diamond run,  _

_ “Trying way too hard to impress me,” Betty interrupted, smiling.  _

_ “Naturally,” he grinned a slick smile, “and Betty was the one to find me and call the ski patrol. She nursed me back to health,” he finished with a secret grin.  _

_ Jughead hated him. Nevermind that he didn’t know anything about the boy standing in front of his, besides his name and the fact that he was obviously clumsy, but he hated him nevertheless.  _

_ “I did not,” Betty giggled. Jughead stared at her, dumbfounded. Betty did not giggle like that. His Betty would never fawn over a man who had hurt himself in an attempt to impress her. His Betty thought those kind of cocky displays were archaic. Ridiculous. Embarrassing.  _

_ He noticed that he hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation for too long, and found himself nodding when Trev excused himself to go to class. He stood there, unable to speak, as Betty stood beside him, opening her locker.  _

_ “Jug?” her voice broke through the fog in his mind, and he shook his head gently, looking at her. Her face was pulled into a look of concern.  _

_ “Are you okay?” she asked, “You know, about Trev and I?” _

_ “Of course,” was his knee-jerk response. He wanted to say no, he wanted to tell her that she should be with him. But he knew that wasn’t right. She deserved someone who was brave enough to actually tell her. And so he swallowed his contempt for Trev Brown and plastered a smile on his face. _

_ “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.” _

They had been dating ever since. Jughead sighed internally. Not only did he have these  _ feelings  _ he couldn’t get rid of, now he was the fifth wheel. What had he done to deserve this kind of torture? Surely, he was being punished for some wrongdoing, or at least he hoped that was true, because if life was truly just this cruel sometimes… Well, he didn’t know what he would do if that were the case. 

That night, he would be squished into a too-small booth beside Archie and Veronica, who were still going strong, and across from Betty and Trev. 

What an absolute nightmare. 

To make matters worse, he was almost absolutely certain that Betty wanted to break up with Trev. He had come across a pros and cons list on her desk in the Blue and Gold office earlier that day. On the  _ Pros  _ side, there were a couple of feeble items.  _ Pretty eyes, nice smile, funny.  _ The  _ Cons  _ side was far more interesting.  _ Likes Fox News, watches prank shows, thinks Tom Brady’s biography is the next Great American novel, is mean to his sister, makes fun of Archie, wants me to stop being friends with Jughead. _

It was the last one that had really sent Jughead spinning. The rest of it didn’t surprise him. Trev Brown was a decent human, but that’s all he was. Average, at best. But would Betty actually stop being friends with him for her boyfriend? The thought terrified him. Some days, she was the only reason he had to even come to school. If she stopped being his friend, he didn’t know what he would do. 

His fears had been abated quickly when Betty had come blustering into the room, her arms full of papers that threatened to escape her grip. He rushed over to help her, taking half the pile and setting it down on top of the damning list. 

“Thanks, Jug. You’re a lifesaver,” she smiled before turning to the stack of papers, her hands sorting them into organized piles. His stomach turned with dread as he watched her, and he decided that he couldn’t take it. He wouldn’t be able to wait until she dropped the hammer and told him that she never wanted to speak to him again. 

“Hey, Betty?” She looked up from her work, a question mark resting on her face. “We’re… we’re good right?” He almost winced when she looked at him with what he assumed was pity.

“Jug,” she started, moving a hand to his arm, “Of course, we are. Why would you think otherwise?”

Jughead panicked, not having thought his actions through. Should he make something up? No, she would know that he was lying. He was horrible at it. He sighed, “It’s just… I… I saw your list,” he began, continuing when she looked truly confused, “about Trev? And him wanting you to not be friends with me.”

He could have sworn his heart almost fell out of his stomach when she grabbed him in a tight hug.

“Jug,” she admonished, “Nothing and no one would ever be able to tell me to stop being your friend. You are my  _ best friend _ , nothing will ever change that.”

Jughead sighed in relief. 

So he would go to dinner, he would be the fifth wheel, he would do anything to make her happy. 

And maybe, if he got lucky, she would dump Trev right in front of him and he would get the pleasure of knowing that no matter what, some part of Betty would always be his. 

**Seventeen**

Jughead had come to detest this day. 

It always started at the beginning of February. A cold chill that would creep into his bones, filtering a mild annoyance into him. That mild annoyance would grow to become an irritation, and eventually, it would turn into full-blown hatred. Two years in a row he had been forced to watch the girl he loved either be rejected, or be stuck in a relationship that she didn’t want to be in. Although he was grateful that he had been present when the inevitable breakup had happened. 

Betty hadn’t waited too long after their group date to break it off with Trev. The last straw had been when the boy in question had told Betty that she had to choose between him or Jughead. Nevermind that Jughead had been purposefully spending more time around Betty when he could be sure that Trev could see them. He was funnier, making it his only goal to make her laugh. He worked harder on his articles, asking her for advice on them every chance he got. 

By the end of the week, Trev had been demanding that she choose, and so she had. 

She had declared right there, in the middle of the hallway, that no boyfriend was worth giving up a friendship for. And that was the end of that. 

Sure, Trev had begged her a couple of days later to take her back. The poor sucker had no such luck. What he hadn’t known was that once Betty Cooper made up her mind, there was no going back. 

You would think that Betty being single for Valentine’s Day this year would have made Jughead happy, but then you would be terribly wrong. He had wanted to be happy, had wanted to make plans for grand gestures to win her heart. Until about three days ago. 

_ “So,” he started, his voice cracking slightly, “do you have any plans for Tuesday?”  _

_ She was laying on the couch in the Blue and Gold, while he sat at the desk. It was a role reversal to how they usually sat, but he knew she was dead on her feet from trying to get the Valentine’s issue of the newspaper out on time.  _

_ A thick scoff was her only reply, which made him smile to himself. He was the only person that she fully let her guard down around, the only person she acted less than perfect with, and he loved having that privilege.  _

_ “Is that a maybe?” he teased, glancing at her when she sat up to glare at him.  _

_ “I’m not observing Valentine’s Day this year. It’s a stupid holiday, and it’s offensively exclusive.” _

_ Jughead barked a laugh, “So you aren’t expecting any grand gestures of love from any of the Bulldogs?”  _

_ “Ha ha, very funny,” she sneered playfully. _

_ “I heard that some of the water polo team are looking for dates, you could -” his words were cut off by a pillow smacking him directly in the face. He swayed on his feet, trying to catch his balance. He looked over at the couch to see her laughing in delight at her attack. He narrowed his eyes at her, dropping the papers in his hands before taking three bounding strides. He was at the couch in an instant, towering over her as her laughter devolved into shrieks. She tried to push herself up to sit, but he was too quick. Her hands came up to try and fend him off, but he simply grabbed her wrists, placing them both in one of his hands, using his newly free one to tickle along her ribs. It was the one place that she was ticklish and he was the only one who knew it. He placed a foot on the couch beside her to keep himself upright as he continued his onslaught.  _

_ He smiled widely, knowing that he had her. Also, it wasn’t the worst thing getting to flirt with Betty Cooper. To feel her warm skin in his palm, to hear her breathy laughs as she struggled to catch her breath. He marveled at her, and in that moment his concentration was broken. She must have seen her window, because before he could stop her she hooked a foot around his leg, nudging the back of his knee just hard enough to make it buckle.  _

_ He felt himself falling and released her hands quickly, putting them out in front of him to avoid completely crushing her. He closed his eyes, waiting for her to push him off of her in disgust, but it didn’t come.  _

_ He opened his eyes, only to be nose to nose with her. She was so close he could feel her breath on his lips. He could see every swirl of color in her emerald green eyes. They weren’t just green, he noticed only then. They had shoots of honey amber starting around the irises, that stretched out to meet the earthly green depths that were so striking from afar.  _

_ “Jug?” her voice was tight and quiet, and he remembered himself, jumping off of the couch quickly.  _

_ “Sorry,” he murmured, walking quickly back over to the desk, retrieving the papers he had left there.  _

_ It was deathly quiet and Jughead wanted the Earth to open up and swallow him whole.  _

_ “I’m swearing off boys,” she said abruptly, a forced smile on her face. He looked at her in confusion, wondering where the confession had come from. Then it hit him. She could see how he had looked at her on the couch. She was letting him down, in the nicest way she knew how. He tried his best to stop his face from turning red from embarrassment, hoping that he was successful. He looked back down at the table. _

_ “Like how you swore off girls,” she said brightly, but he could tell the cheer in her voice was fake, “Right, Jug?” _

_ He sighed quietly, and forced a smile, trying to keep his heart from sinking down to his toes. _

_ “Right, Betts.” _

And so Jughead sat in the library, reading his book for English. He would be lying if he said that he hadn’t been avoiding Betty since that day. He had come up with every possible excuse to not go to the Blue and Gold office, including, apparently, doing his homework. 

But all the avoidance in the world, it seemed, couldn’t stop his eyes from following her every time she was near. Like now, when she walked through the library doors with Veronica, a smile bright on her face as her friend said something to make her laugh. 

He tried to tear his gaze away from her, but it was impossible. He knew he wasn’t allowed to look at her like this. She wasn’t his, nowhere close to. It was wrong, but she was just so nice to look at. He winced at the thought. God, he was horrifying. 

It was everything about her, though. The way she carried herself. The cute sweaters that were innately her. The way she floated when she walked. The small smile that was always present on her face, no matter what she was doing.

“Earth to Jughead,” Jughead startled out of his thoughts, looking around to see who was addressing him. 

Archie sat next to him, smirking in a way that made Jughead want to punch him. 

“What?” he asked in annoyance, glancing back down at the book in his lap. 

“You know, if you keep looking at her like that, the whole school is going to know how you feel.”

Jughead jerked his head to look at Archie

“You know, I might not be as smart as you guys, but I’m not completely oblivious.”

Jughead rolled his eyes, holding his book up in front of his face to hide the blush that was creeping up his face. 

“You know,” Archie started again, “any girl would be lucky to have someone look at them the way you look at her.”

He scoffed, “Yeah, well. Not every girl is her.”

**Eighteen**

Jughead stared at his laptop, willing the screen to light up with the call he was waiting for. It was February, and as much as he usually hated the upcoming festivities, he had even more reason to hate everything this year. 

Betty had been gone for a week. She had applied for and won a spot for a two-week internship at the New York Times to study journalism with some of the best writers in the world. She had been gone for a week, and Jughead had never realized just how much space Betty Cooper took up in his life. 

When she had first said she was thinking about applying, he had urged her to do it. He knew she was good enough, and he knew it was her dream to work for the Times someday. It was an amazing opportunity, anyone would say so. They had waited anxiously for her letter to come in the mail, and he had spun her around her living room when she announced that she had been accepted. 

It’s funny, he thought. He had spent so much time helping her get ready that he had never once considered how empty his days would be without her. 

And so there he sat, in front of his laptop, staring intently at the screen, willing her to video chat with him. 

He glanced over at his corkboard hanging above his small desk. His eye was constantly drawn to the Polaroid that was pinned in the very center. It featured an effervescent blonde, holding a sunflower that was almost larger than her head. She was smiling harder than he had ever seen. It was from the day they had all gone to a corn maze that fall. They had had a small patch of sunflowers that you could buy, and naturally, he hadn’t been able to resist getting her one after seeing the longing on her face. He had decided at the beginning of their senior year that he would carry around his dad’s old camera, intent on capturing every memory of their last year at Riverdale High. So when he saw her face split open in pure delight, he had raised his camera without thinking, freezing her happiness forever in time. 

When they had sat in the back of Archie’s jalopy on the way home that night, she had whispered softly to Jughead as her head rested on his shoulder. 

“This is it Jug, the last of our sunflower moments.”

He grinned at her words, “Sunflower moments?”

“Moments like today, where we’re all together. After this year everything is going to be different, and we might all end up in the same city, but it will never be like this again. We will have to grow up, and be responsible, and become adults. We have -” her words were interrupted by a yawn, “we have to have as many sunflower moments as we can, before it’s all over.”

Jughead had thought a lot about that moment since. She had been right. Nothing would ever be the same after this year, and so he had dedicated his time to giving her as many sunflower moments as he could, where all of them were smiling, happy, and carefree. His corkboard was full of them. 

God, he missed her. 

They had still been texting, as much as her internship would allow, which wasn’t much. She was busy from the moment she arrived at the Times to the time she went to bed. They were absolutely working her to the bone, and if she wasn’t deliriously happy about it he would have been indignantly furious for her. 

Despite the texting, they had video chatted almost every night, with her regaling stories of New York and all the wondrous things she saw there. He listened intently, loving to hear the excitement in her voice and see the wonder in her eyes. 

It wasn’t until the night before that he had had a heart-stopping realization. It was after a story she had told him about a quartet of singers who had started harmonizing on the subway that she had sighed in content and whispered, “God, I can’t wait to live here.”

He had managed to keep his face neutral at the time, but as soon as they had hung up, the panic had set in. Betty was moving to New York after high school. If he was being honest with himself, a part of him had always known that. She hadn’t been secretive about her dreams and ambitions. Had never shied away from telling him about how she would be a big-time journalist living in the Big Apple. It just had never seemed  _ real  _ until then. But now, in her absence, it was all too real. 

He had started looking up schools with creative writing programs immediately. Most of them were way out of his price range, but a couple offered scholarships to promising writers. He had almost missed the deadline for most of them, and so he had spent all that night, and all the next day filling out applications and submitting essays. Luckily for him, he had so many creative writing pieces that were collecting dust on his laptop. Most of them he was able to adapt and use. 

He had sent in the last one when finally, his screen lit up with an incoming call, and he jammed his hand forward to answer it as quickly as possible. 

“Betts! How was your day?” he asked immediately, before seeing her face come on the screen. When it did though, he was surprised at what he saw. Usually, by the time Betty called him, she had taken off her makeup for the day, changed into her pajamas, and had her hair piled up in a high bun, but that wasn’t the case tonight. 

Instead, her makeup was darker, her hair carefully curled and brushed out, and her clothes were not what he would call work attire. His silence must have been telling, because she blushed and tucker her hair behind one ear. 

“Well, do I look nice?” she asked. Jughead started and cleared his throat, slapping a smirk on his face in defense. 

“Awe, Betts, you didn’t have to get dressed up for me,” he joked, hoping that he sounded convincing. He must have, because she rolled her eyes at him. 

“You’re hilarious. Answer the question, Jones.”

He let his grin fall into a small smile, “You look amazing, like always.” Shit. He hadn’t meant to be that honest. But from the smile on her face, she hadn’t minded. 

“Thanks,” she blushed. He loved it when she blushed. It made her look young and sweet and it turned his stomach inside out. Every. Time. 

He pulled himself back to the present when he heard her talking. 

“...and I almost said no, but then I thought  _ Why not say yes? You’re in New York, you might as well do something spontaneous!” _

Jughead cocked his head in confusion, “What are you spontaneously doing?”

Betty pursed her lips playfully, “Jug! Pay attention. I was saying that one of the boys from the internship asked me out tonight, and I said yes! Can you believe that? My mother would be disgusted, and it is exhilarating!” 

Jughead’s stomach clenched painfully, but he struggled to keep his face smiling. “You’re right, you’re mother would hate this,” he choked out, “Betts, are you sure it’s safe?”

Betty waved a hand at him, “You sound like Veronica. We are meeting at the restaurant, and I don’t intend on going to a secondary location with him. It’s just dinner,” she finished innocently. 

He gazed at the sunflower Polaroid again. He wanted to be sucked into his mattress until he couldn’t breathe anymore. He was doing his absolute best to keep it together, to not fall apart in front of her. 

“Jug?” 

He looked up at the screen and forced a smile to come to his lips when he saw the concern on her face. 

“Are you okay?” Of course, she would be worried about him. That was what she did. Worried about everyone else before herself. He could have kicked himself. It wasn’t her fault that he had never been able to work up the guts to ask her out, or even tell her how he felt. What was she supposed to do, be lonely until he gathered enough nerve to finally tell her that he loved her?

No. 

That wasn’t what he wanted for her. 

“I’m good, Betts. Just distracted.” She nodded, not looking like she completely believed him. 

Her phone binged in the background and she glanced at it. 

“That’s him,” she grinned, “I have to head out now. Wish me luck!” 

“Good luck,” he whispered, keeping the smile on his face until the call disconnected. 

He slammed the laptop shut and tossed it to the side. He scrubbed his hands roughly over his face, leaving them to rest at his temples as he shook his head in disbelief. 

“Fucking Valentine’s Day.”

**Nineteen**

The club music was pounding loudly in his ears and he hated everything. He had planned to stay in tonight. Another Valentine’s Day would come and go, and he had made grandiose plans of ordering in pizza and watching trashy TV. 

But you know what they said about best-laid plans. 

He had gotten a text at eight o’clock on the dot. 

_ Chuck’s been cheating on me. V and A  _

_ are meeting us at Murphy’s in ten.  _

The first thing that crossed his mind was to find Chuck and beat the everliving shit out of him. Nothing would bring Jughead any greater pleasure, but he knew that Betty wouldn’t approve, and that it would probably hurt her more than it would make him feel better. 

He wanted to scold himself at how easy it was for her to dismantle his carefully laid plans. If he were being honest to himself, he would have been able to admit that he had only planned a night in because he had no desire to watch Betty fawn over someone who didn’t deserve her. 

Chuck and Betty had been dating for the last six months and it had been apparent to Jughead from day one that the frat boy wouldn’t be able to love Betty in the way that she deserved to be loved. 

He had gotten her a chocolate orange for Christmas. That was all. And even though Betty had explained it away, excusing the present as an inside joke that the two of them shared, Jughead knew the truth. The idiot had forgotten about getting her a present and had bought the first thing he had seen at the bodega across the street from her and Veronica’s apartment. 

So, he was at the club, shuffling to music that was too loud, in a crowd that was too crowded, watching the girl he loved get too drunk over a fucking idiot. 

When she stumbled onto the dance floor with yet another drink, he knew it was time to step in. 

“Hey, Betts,” he smiled, trying not to tip her off as to what he was about to do. 

“Hey Jug!” she shouted over the music, “This is amazing! Isn’t this amazing?” 

Jughead nodded and moved to speak closer to her ear. “Totally amazing. You know what we should do?” 

“What?” she asked, excitement alight in her eyes. 

“We should get you some water,” he said enthusiastically, “Wouldn’t that be fun?”

He cursed internally when he saw the smile on her face drop into a frown. He wasn’t as subtle as he wished he was. 

“No!” she shouted, moving away from him, “You’re trying to sober me up! You keep your tricks away from me, Jones!” 

He sighed and tried changing tactics, reaching for her drink. She saw him coming and moved the glass to her lips, downing the contents of the tumbler in one gulp. She wiped her mouth with the back on her hand and smiled triumphantly, sticking her tongue out at him. 

He simply shook his head, “You are going to feel awful tomorrow.”

“I already feel awful, Jug! A hangover isn’t going to make it wor-” Her words halted and her face was pulled into something akin to horror and devastation. Jughead stepped closer to her, gently grabbing her shoulders.

“Betts? Betty, what’s wrong?” When she didn’t answer, he turned to follow her line of sight. He immediately saw the culprit of her stilted speech. 

There was Chuck, in the middle of the dance floor, attempting to suck the tonsils out of some brunette’s throat. A wave of anger like he had never felt before overwhelmed all his senses. Everything was glazed in a haze of red, and he could feel his arms shaking with rage. 

“What are you two staring at?” Jughead jerked his head to look at Archie, who had come to stand by Betty. Veronica made a noise of disgust when she noticed what Jughead and Betty were looking at. 

Jughead couldn’t take it, he couldn’t watch Chuck Clayton, the man who had hurt the woman he loved, enjoy his night mere feet away from when, while Betty stood there, drinking herself into a stupor because he hadn’t been able to keep his dick in his pants. 

“Archie, stay with Betty,” he commanded, marching away from them. He could vaguely hear someone yelling at him to come back, but he ignored it. 

He licked his lips as he approached the man who he had known, since day one, would never be good enough for Betty Cooper. He tapped on Chuck’s shoulder when he came close enough, waiting for him to disentangle himself from the brunette. 

Chuck looked surprised to see Jughead there, but the surprise was quickly replaced with a cocky grin. 

“Jones, didn’t expect to see you here. How’s Betty?” Jughead growled in the back on his throat, stepping into Chuck’s space so that there were only a few inches between them. 

“You don’t get to talk about her, you fucking piece of shit.” 

“Wow, seems like a sore spot,” Chuck mused, “So where is she? Did she send her junkyard dog out for blood?”

“You know this is her favorite bar, why would you even bother coming here tonight?” Jughead demanded, “What, did you want to flaunt the fact that you’re a cheater in front of the whole bar?”

Chuck scoffed and smiled, “Well that’s the thing,  _ Jug, _ ” condescendingly using Betty’s nickname for him, “In order to be a cheater, you kind of have to have sex on a regular basis. And your girl, she’s about as uptight as they come. I mean, I was  _ dying _ to get into those jeans, but fuck, a guy can only wait so long. And once or twice in six months just doesn’t cut it. I have needs, you know.” 

Jughead ground his teeth, his fist itching to slam into the side of Chuck’s skull. 

“Do not talk about her that way,” he threatened. 

“You know, I see right through your little act. You pretend like your just friends, but I can see how much you want to fuck her.”

“Shut. Up!”

“Come on, Jones. Admit it!” They had amassed a crowd, and he vaguely registered that the music was no longer playing. “You want her so bad, it’s practically written on your face. Let me tell you a secret,” he whispered loudly so that everyone could still hear, “You might as well move on, because her pussy isn’t that gre-”

Jughead didn’t let him finish. He didn’t know how he knew what to do, he had never hit anyone in his life, but instinct took over. He threw his fist into Chuck’s face as hard as he could, hitting him right in the nose. There was a gush of blood and screams broke out around them as drunk girls squealed at the sight of the broken nose. Chuck fell to the floor, cursing and about to get back up, when strong hands grabbed Jughead roughly by the arms, pulling him away from the bloodied man on the floor. 

He looked back and saw a massive hulk of a man, the bouncer, pushing him towards the door. He sighed, feeling embarrassed at losing his temper when the bouncer spoke in a quiet, yet rumbling voice, “Good job, kid. That asshole had it coming.”

Jughead smirked to himself as they made their way to the door. He looked around for his friends and saw them waiting for him at the door, coats in hand. The looks on their faces ranged from impressed (Archie), to exasperated (Veronica), to bewilderment (Betty). 

He was escorted to the door and asked politely not to come back for a long time. They all stood on the sidewalk, not speaking for a moment until Veronica cleared her throat. 

“Well, I think that’s enough fun for one night. I’m calling us a town car.” She moved off to the side, pointedly gesturing for Archie to come with her. 

Jughead stood in silence, waiting for Betty to say something, hoping that she would say literally  _ anything.  _ What he wasn’t expecting was for her to burst out in tears. He froze for a moment before stepping into her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. 

“Betts, it’s alright,” he held her close to his chest, her sobs shaking him. “He’s not worth your tears. God, he’s not worth another moment of your thoughts.”

“I’m so stupid,” she mumbled, “No one is ever going to love me. I’m so  _ broken,  _ Jug.”

He pushed her back far enough so that he could look in her eyes. “Betty Cooper, any man would be lucky to earn your love. Chuck Clayton is an idiot who is more concerned with fucking sorority girls than actually loving someone.” 

Her eyes shone brightly with tears, and he wondered to himself how much longer he would be able to watch her choose the wrong man. 

**Twenty**

_ Nothing is different about today _ , Jughead told himself firmly as he looked in the mirror.  _ It’s just another day. You’ve loved Betty Cooper for years, and this godforsaken day doesn’t cheapen that. _

Nevermind that today was a day that he had come to loathe over the years. Every year he put up a valiant fight against the superfluous holiday, and every year it threatened to chip away at his very soul. 

_ Valentine’s Day is a consumerist holiday that preys on men and women, forcing them to feel inadequate in just about every conceivable way _ , is what he would say to Archie and Veronica every year. 

Two years ago, Archie had simply smirked and thrown a thinly veiled jab that Jughead was just jealous that he didn’t have a certain blushing blonde on his arm. 

Jughead scoffed at the memory. Jealousy wasn’t something that was in his nature. Did it bother him that said blonde had spent the last five Valentine’s Days being royally disappointed by various men in her life? Maybe a little. Had he known in his soul that he could show her a better evening than the total lack of effort all those boys had put in? Absolutely.   
When Betty asked him to hang out on Valentine’s Day last week, he had just about told her no. That he would be spending the day holed up in his apartment, working on his manuscript. But the pleading look in her eyes would always get the best of him. How could he say no when her emerald eyes were sparkled like that? 

And that was what had led him to her apartment at noon on a day where he would rather be curled up on his couch. At least, that’s what he was trying to convince himself. 

If he was being honest with himself, he was giddy at the opportunity to give her her first truly amazing Valentine’s Day outing. Even if they were just friends. 

He knocked on the door, fidgeting with his beanie as he listened to her footsteps approach the door. She opened it and he smiled at her outfit that she had chosen for the day. 

When she had asked him to hang out, he had immediately told her that he was planning the day. She had texted him the night before asking what kind of outfit she would need for the day and he had replied vaguely, only telling her that it was a casual outing. 

He scoffed in amusement as he took in her black skinny jeans, oversized plaid thrown over a t-shirt, and beaten up Converse. 

“Looking great, Betts. Although, you do remind me of someone,” he smiled. 

“Really? I thought this was such an original look,” she teased in return. 

“You and every other hipster in this city.” It was their favorite inside joke, where she called him out for being the hipster he was, and he denied it with every fiber in his being. He still maintained that he was too original to be a true hipster, but Betty insisted it was that line of thinking that made him the king of hipsters. 

Nevertheless, he thought it was adorable that she had dressed like him, even if it was to mock him, and he had internally so grateful that he had opted for his leather jacket when he left the house, instead of his usual plaid. 

“So, what’s on the agenda today?” she asked slyly, trying to trick information out of him. 

“Nice try, Cooper, but you’re going to have to work a little harder to pull a fast one on me.”

She pouted for a moment, a look of determination crossing her face before she rearranged her features back into her patent Cooper smile. 

“Lead the way, Mr. Jones.”

He could see the look of her confusion as they approached the laundromat, but he kept his smile to himself. 

“You want me to do your laundry? That’s your big surprise?” He laughed, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward from where she had halted on the sidewalk. 

“Come on, you love doing my laundry,” he grinned as he looked up at the sign ahead of them.  _ Sunshine Laundromat.  _ He had learned about this place from a classmate and had been dying to take Betty there ever since. 

He opened the door for her, grinning like a maniac as she walked past him. She looked suspicious, and rightfully so. There was nothing about this place that would tip her off to his plan. He walked in and nearly bumped into her, as she had stopped her progress right inside the door. He huffed out a laugh and grabbed her hand. 

“Follow me,” he urged, trying not to overthink the fact that he was holding her hand. He led her through the narrow storefront, winding their way around washing machines and dryers until they came to the very back of the building. 

He cast a look back at her, satisfied by the confused look on her face. He grabbed the handle to the machine that was situated on the back wall and pulled hard, hearing her gasp when the entire machine swung away from the wall. 

He pulled her through the doorway to reveal an old speakeasy that had been repurposed into a pinball arcade. He looked back at her, reveling in the wonder that was reflected in her eyes. 

“Jug, this is,” she paused, turning around to take in the arcade, “this is amazing!” She rushed over to the nearest free machine, jumping excitedly. “How did you find out about this place?”

He tsked quietly, pulling a handful of quarters out of his pocket. “I can’t tell you all my secrets, Betts. That would give you an unfair advantage.”

He slipped a quarter into the slot and motioned for her to take over, taking a step back as she grinned from ear to ear. Riverdale didn’t have much in the way of an arcade, but Reggie Mantle had had a pinball machine in his basement when they were growing up, and they would all spend whole summer afternoons in his air-conditioned basement taking turns before things like status and popularity separated them all. He had known the instance he had discovered the pinball arcade that she would love it. 

They stayed there for a few hours, trying different machines, playing together and separately, and it was everything Jughead had hoped it would be. The glowing blue and red neons bounced off her face, her skin looked ethereal in the glow. And she smiled, and laughed, and giggled uncontrollably when he lost valiantly. Watching her be so carefree, it was everything he could have hoped for. 

He was watching her play some pinball machine that was Wonder Woman themed when his phone gently dinged at him, signaling that it was time to move on to their next activity. 

He walked up to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. His heart thumped painfully in his chest when she turned her head to glance back at him. He didn’t want to stop her fun, but he knew that she would love his next surprise as much as this one. 

“Time for our next adventure,” he whispered. She simply nodded and grinned, following him out of the arcade. 

He stepped out of their Uber, rushing over to her door to open it for her. It had only been a half-hour drive to their next location, so he hadn’t had to avoid her questions for too long. To distract her, he had asked how the twins were doing. She could gush over them for hours, and it had sufficiently distracted her for most of the cab ride. They stepped onto the sidewalk and he watched as she glanced around, the journalist in her trying to figure out where they were and why. When her eyes fell of the magnificent hotel standing before them. 

“Jug!” she gasped, her hands clasped over her mouth, “You didn’t… you did not!” Her final words ended on a near shriek, and he grimaced good-naturedly at the pitch. 

“Only the finest for you, Ms. Cooper,” he bowed deeply, gesturing for her to take the lead. She grabbed his hand excitedly and raced to the stairs, practically dragging him up them. 

“What are we seeing?” she asked curiously. She was no stranger to the McKittrick Hotel, and he knew that she had been dying to go explore the hotel and maybe even see a show since they had all moved to the city. It had never worked out between school, jobs, and the lack of money. 

“What was your favorite Shakespearean play again? I just can’t seem to remember,” he feigned forgetfulness, knowing full well what her answer would be.

“Ohmygod, are you taking me to Sleep No More?” she asked, her voice rising. “Jughead Jones, I love you. I can’t believe this, this is amazing, you are the best friend I’ve ever had,” her voice trailing off as she opened the door and walked in while he floated behind her. 

He knew that she didn’t mean it the way he wanted her to do, but still. To hear those words leave her lips.  _ Jughead Jones, I love you.  _ It was almost enough to stop his heart. It was all he wanted, and it was so close, but had never been farther away. She had never been farther away. She thought he was doing al this as a friend, out of mere  _ friendship.  _

“Jug?” her voice rang out through the air, snapping him back to the present. “Are you coming?”

He smiled, trying his best to keep the sadness out of it. “Right behind you, Betts.” 

They walked around the interactive play, and he watched with admiration as she flitted from scene to scene, asking the actors questions, peering at props, and regaling him with Macbeth trivia. It made his heart swell to see her so happy and in her element, almost as much as it broke it to know that he was still fighting a losing battle. 

He would be lying to himself if he said that he hadn’t planned this day with the hope that she would realize just how much he cared for her. That maybe, if he planned the perfect day, she would finally understand just how much he loved her. That maybe, for once, she would think that he could be more than just her best friend. 

It was a foolish thought, one that set him up for disappointment, and the truth was, he would have planned the day the exact same even if he knew that she would never feel the same way about him. She deserved to be treated like she was important, because she was. 

She was the most important person in his life. She had been there for everything, through the good and bad, and he knew she would always be there for him. 

Even if she never loved him back the same way he loved her, having her by his side was good enough. It would have to be. He couldn’t fathom living without her. 

“Alright, Betts. Last stop.” He was almost saddened by the look of sheer surprise on her face, like no one had ever planned a whole day just for her. But he knew that to be true. No one had ever treasured her enough to put in the effort that she rightly deserved. 

“There’s more?” she asked, awe evident in her words. He chuckled, nudging her shoulder gently. 

“Only the best for you,” he teased. Her face drifted from surprise to something else that he couldn’t really place. It was a look that he couldn’t remember ever seeing her make, like she was looking right into the very depths of his soul. 

He shook off his moment of pause, leading the way up the stairs to their final stop. 

The High Line was an old train track that ran through parts of the city. It had been repurposed over the last ten years into a boardwalk. Patrons could walk alongside the old tracks, above the buildings that spread below them, getting a bird’s eye view of the city. 

The sun was slowly started to sink beneath the massive New York skyline, bathing everything is golden hues. They reached the top of the stairs and he smiled when she giggled from what he assumed was sheer delight. 

“This is beautiful, Jug,” she exclaimed, rushing ahead to the railing without him. 

He looked around, searching for the familiar face that he was expecting. He saw Andre in the distance and casually made eye contact with him, nodding his thanks. The man melted into the crowd, unbeknownst to Betty. 

“Betts, over here,” he beckoned, waiting for her to fall into stride beside him. They walked a little further to where Andre had been standing and Jughead led her the ledge. She sighed happily and looked out over the city, snapping pictures with her phone. He snuck to the shrub that was directly behind them, searching under the foliage for what Andre had left there for him. 

He pulled out his messenger bag and the box that lay underneath it. He thanked Veronica silently for being as wonderfully organized as she was. Veronica had come ten minutes earlier, leaving Andre to guard his belongings, and had hidden his bag with a flower, some drinks, and his Polaroid, along with the box, which contained pizza from Betty’s favorite parlor, under the shrub. Had he known, all those years ago, that Veronica Lodge would be his perfect partner in crime, he would have told himself to get a grip. But, as it was, she was the best at surprises, and he had needed all the help he could get. It didn’t help that Archie and Veronica had been begging him behind the scenes for a couple of years now to  _ just get it over with already and tell her you love her.  _

He had no intention of doing so, much to Veronica and Archies dismay. But he did have one last gift for her. He pulled the flower from his bag, along with the camera and walked up to her, placing the bag and the pizza box on the ground beside them. 

He leaning against the railing beside her, handing her the golden blossom wordlessly. She took it from him, astonishment evident in her voice, “Where…”

“There’s a flower shop a block from your house that carries sunflowers year-round. It wasn’t too hard to track down,” he answered before letting her finish. Sunflowers were her favorite. “Here,” he gestured for her to step back from the railing, the sun landing on her cheekbones, making her all the more lovely. 

He lifted the camera to his eye, looking at her through the lens. She stood there, staring at him with that look again. He peeked over the top of the camera and chided her jokingly, “Smile, Betts.”

She shook her head slightly and held the flower up in front of her face, only just covering the bottom of her chin. The sun made the perennial even more golden, if that were possible. A small, demure smile graced her lips and he snapped the picture, freezing that smile in time forever. The camera whirred as the film came out the bottom. He grabbed it and shook it absently, waiting for the film to develop. 

Betty came to stand beside him again, shoulder to should, playing with petals distractedly. 

Once the film was finished developing, he held it out to her, watching as she took it gently. “There,” he murmured, “A perfect sunflower moment.” 

He wasn’t expecting her head to whip up to look at him, the movement quick and harsh. 

“What did you call it?” she demanded quietly, her voice hushed. 

He almost faltered, thrown off by her fervor, “A… a sunflower moment. You know, from senior year. I mean, I know Archie and Veronica aren’t here, but..” he trailed off when he saw the look on her face. She looked like she was trying to puzzle something out, like when she was writing an assignment for school. 

“Why did you do all this, Jug?” The words were quiet, but demanded an answer. 

“I, well…,” he stuttered, “you deserve to have a good Valentine’s Day.” 

“I would have had a good day if we went to the movies, or to coffee, or any of the other things we usually do. Today was...something else entirely,” she mused. He waited for her to say more, but she stood there, gazing out over the city. 

“Did you have fun?” he asked meekly, hoping with all his heart that she had. 

She turned to stare at him incredulously, “Jug, this is the best Valentine’s I’ve ever had, by far.” He allowed himself a smile, happy that he had succeeded in making her happy. “But this goes far beyond friendship, Jug. Nobody has ever treated me like I matter as much as you, so I need you to be honest with me,” she paused, “Tell me why you did all this.”

His heart jumped into his throat. There it was, the question that he had been asking himself for years. Why did he take AP English? Why did he watch bad romcoms every other Sunday, when it was her turn to pick the movie? Why did he stay as far away from the Serpents as possible? Why did he apply to schools in New York?

Every decision he made was with her in mind. His life revolved around her, like she was the Sun, and he was just grateful to be in her orbit. 

He knew this was his chance, and that he might not get another one like this again. If he was ever going to come clean, now was the time. 

He took a deep breath, looked her in the eyes, and told her what he had wanted to tell her since he was fifteen. 

“I love you,” he confessed. Even then, in that moment, saying those words out loud caused a bout of panic to well up in his chest. But then he stopped it in its tracks. He took a deep breath and continued before she could stop him. Before she could walk away. 

“I have been in love with you since freshman year, Betty Cooper. Hopelessly, irrevocably, in love with you. You are...God, you are  _ everything _ . And I was never going to tell you. Honestly. I was happy just getting to have you in my life. That was enough for me. But then I watched you get your heart broken again and again, and each time I couldn’t help but think that you deserved someone who would jump through fire for you. And each time you picked yourself back up again, I fell in love with you more. You are so resilient, you don’t let anything tear you down. You are funny and kind and for some reason, you chose me to be your best friend. But 

I messed up, Betts, because I thought I was happy just being your friend. But somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you, and I can’t live one more day without telling you.”

The words came out in a rush, and when he finished he looked down at the ground, unable to meet her eyes. 

He heard her make a noise in the back of her throat that sounded like something akin to annoyance, and then her hand was on his chin, pulling up his face to meet hers. 

“You idiot,” she murmured, her eyes melting him, “You are my everything too, Jug. You always have been.”

He stared at her in confusion. What was she saying? Did she mean…?

“I fell in love with my best friend in a dusty old newspaper office, and I told myself that it would never work. That he didn’t feel that way about me. But there were times when he looked at me like I was the center of the universe, but he never…  _ did  _ anything about it,” she shrugged, “So I assumed he didn’t feel the same way. I distracted myself with other boys, and I kept him close, because friendship was better than nothing.” 

Jughead rested his forehead against hers, huffing out a laugh. “Is it safe to assume that I am this stupid boy?”

She smiled and his heart soared, like it had spontaneously grown wings and was trying to beat its way out of his chest. 

“You are not stupid, Jughead.” She moved her hands to his face, rubbing at his cheekbone with her thumb. He was about to reply with some witty comment, but it died on his lips when she brought her mouth to his. 

His breath caught in his throat and he stood there for a moment, shocked and unmoving. It wasn’t until she breathed a soft sigh that he came to himself. He brought his hands to the base of her neck, tangling his fingers in the hair there. She tasted sweet, like apple juice or peach. 

He didn’t know how long they stayed like that, lips moving gently against one another, but eventually, Betty pulled away and let out a breathy laugh. 

“That was…” she stopped and laughed again. 

He rubbed his nose against hers, feeling happier than he had ever felt before. 

“A sunflower moment,” he uttered. 

She sighed happily, “Definitely a sunflower moment.”


End file.
